Why does a train engineer lay on the horn for one crossing but not another?

Q. Hello Honk: For years I’ve wondered why in Anaheim on one street we have train-track crossings used to haul freight goods, and the slow-moving trains use loud horns when they approach that crossing, which I will sometimes hear very early in the morning. A few miles away, there is another set of train tracks only used by Amtrak and Metrolink. But here we have signs that say, “NO HORNS.” Why is that? I think when you have a Metrolink or an Amtrak going a lot faster you should have a horn to warn the traffic.

– Mario Luna, Anaheim

A. Under federal law, trains must sound their horns before coming to a public crossing – unless the crossing is in what the feds call a quiet zone.

Cities and counties can install safety devices to meet the requirement of creating a quiet zone. Then, trains don’t need to sound their horns on a regular basis – of course, they would if someone is near the tracks.

The safety measures could include medians to keep motorists from cheating around the crossing arms, extra signs, a more sophisticated crossing-gate system, and special arm-crossing gates for pedestrians.

Orange County’s first quiet zone went into effect in 2007 in Placentia.

The goal of quiet zones, of course, is to reduce the sound of horns – which are romantic across America’s Great Plains, but not so much to those living nearby.

Q. Honk! It seems like just a couple of years ago they made it illegal to place a clear, plastic protective cover over your license plate. I imagine that was to make it difficult or probably impossible for it to be machine-read. Is this still the rule? I see that maybe 40% of all cars now have these on their back plates. Is it not being enforced? If you were to get cited for something else, will the officer include this?

– Stan Strom, West Hills

A. There are small, clear anti-theft devices that can cover the registration tag.

Otherwise, no plastic, no glass, nothing can cover the whole license plate.

“The plate has to be as issued,” said Casey Ramstead, an officer and spokesman for the California Highway Patrol out of the station house in Woodland Hills that patrols your turf, Stan. “Nothing can cover or alter the plate at all.”

Violators can get a fix-it ticket – or a citation that goes on one’s driver’s record, with intent or track record likely playing into an officer’s decision. Has the motorist been pulled over for this before?

Ramstead sees his fair share of tinted license-plate coverings. Also, sometimes the clear ones age and turn into a dark-yellow tint.

Will he pull you over for having one, if he isn’t pursuing a speeder or road-rage suspect?

“Yes, if I can’t read the plate,” he said. “That’s like not having a license plate, in my book. I’ve stopped plenty of people for that.”

HONKIN’ FACT: According to AAA, the price for a gallon of regular gas was $4.77 in California on Thursday, Sept. 19, compared to a national average of $3.22. A year before, it was $5.76 in the Golden State. The worst ever here? That was on June 14, 2022, AAA says, at $6.44. To see such gas facts: gasprices.aaa.com.

To ask Honk questions, reach him at honk@ocregister.com. He only answers those that are published. To see Honk online: ocregister.com/tag/honk. Twitter: @OCRegisterHonk